Belatedly Normal
by lufflesmattXD
Summary: Approximately two years later, and the sweepers are still kicking. A mysterious double lead brings them to a small town with absolutely no criminal activity. Eve - as usual - saves a life. But this life is different. Because he's a guy. EvexOC. Rated T.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: I don't own Black Cat. :D (Well, actually I do own _a_ black cat, but not the manga Black Cat…)_

-----------------------

Eve looked up, her hair falling back like a blonde curtain, into the stormy skies above her. The first drop fell on her cheek, but she made no effort to wipe it off. It was just one of many to come – she knew that. She also knew that she had to leave this place soon; in so many ways.

Yes, she needed to leave the rock she was sitting on, and walk back to the… 'house' would be the wrong word; it was more like a temporary sanctuary. But she also needed to pack her things and leave with Train and Sven on another jaunt to who-knows-where, earning her sweeper's licence along the way.

She needed to leave yet another train of thought that was – if she was honest with herself – too close to depressing for comfort.

She needed to leave behind yet another chance to settle and meet people her own age – something she hadn't been interested in doing until a short while ago.

She needed to leave behind this phase, as she'd left behind the safety of her childhood. This subsequent feeling of freak abandonment was much less stable and much shorter than the first fourteen years of her life had been. She sighed. She had put this off with something that was close to actual skill, which worried her. She usually faced her fears.

This, though, was different. This was not a… Actually, it _was_ a confrontation, longer and more taxing than any Eve had ever been through. But, unlike others, this would not offer any rewards – for her at least – after it was done. Partly because it would never actually end. But partly because… she didn't have _time_ for a normal life.

Or a normal relationship.

That wasn't including the admiration she felt for her teammate Sven, or her grudging friendship with Train, her wry half-happiness whenever she saw Rinslet, or even the smiles that Kevin automatically brought to her face with every phone call. No; the sort of relationship she was talking about now was actually something would – given the opportunity to present itself – have the power to make her fly, or break her.

_I can fly already,_ she thought defiantly as she got to her feet, listening to the rainfall that was becoming more and more steady. With an unnecessarily defiant twist of her boot-clad heel, she began her short trudge to the warmth the indoors offered her.

Eve flicked her wet hair over her shoulder. It was growing – already halfway down her back. Did that have something to do with the transformations she practiced every day? She smiled warmly, bringing her fingers up and flexing her now webbed fingers.

The transformation – though this one lasted only the seconds she wanted it to – filled her with some sort of irreplaceable joy. There was nothing quite like the fuzzy – almost tingly – sensation that ran through her every time she webbed her fingers, sprouted wings, or even – on the occasion – turned her entire body to unyielding stone.

"Hey, lil princess!" Train's buoyant voice caused her to look up, the unusual additions to her hands and her expression disappearing. Her smile was replaced by the defiant smirk she seemed to reserve just for Train these days. It irritated her to know that – had he been aware of the slight resentment she felt tangled up in her fondness of the spiky-haired marksman – he would only feel more 'special'. He was like that – he tended to love whatever people thought of him, just as long as they _were_ thinking of him. Or even if they weren't.

Train's cheerful greeting was – in this instance – accompanied by a ruffle of her immaculate – albeit soaking – hair as he passed her, grinning.

"Train." She said, allowing an honest-to-God smile to play on her lips as she removed her muddy shoes. "Is Sven around?"

Train turned on his way to the kitchen – of course – smiling at her a little dauntingly. "Not much fun standing outside in the rain, princess." He teased, erasing the smile and replacing it with a token scowl for the sole benefit of her scruffy teammate.

"You never know." She replied coolly. "He could have been out dealing with something brought about by one of your idiocies. Those tend not to be weather permitting."

This was a prime example of those situations between the two that could really go either way. Sometimes, in these scenarios, Train would stare at Eve levelly, only the slight residue of a smirk in his expression, and pose the question; 'Think you can beat me _this_ time?' or something to that effect. Those times usually did not end well, with the loser sulking and the victor taunting. The other thing that could happen was that Train would simply laugh and let it go.

With his personality, there was really no telling what he'd do. That being said, the outcome of this particular situation was easier to predict than most. Train glanced at Eve, then to the kitchen and back again. His unrelenting appetite won quickly, and he beamed at her. "Touché." He said, disappearing almost instantly through the kitchen door.

Eve sighed. And today, as well, when she'd somehow _felt_ like a rematch. Not that she felt at her best. On the contrary, she felt fairly gloomy, and it wasn't all thanks to the weather. It seemed almost as if the sky was echoing her own sentiment – as if it were raining _because_ she felt gloomy, and not the other way round. She sighed again, louder. All she'd get out of a rematch today would be more angst and probably a wound to lick until the next match – she didn't feel like she was really going to thrash Train in the circumstances.

The on-and-off fight that had somehow lasted three years of Eve's life was really only something to draw comfort from in the strange knew surroundings of… well… growing up, essentially.

Eve had never had a biological mother – and had only met her _incredibly_ biological 'mother' a few times. She was a scientist, of course. It was okay, though, Eve could handle _that_ side of things on her own – and, even though she didn't want to admit it, she loved her two screwball partners too much to leave them for an older version of herself – but she wasn't at all sure what to do with the mood swings she felt now and then. Eve didn't have many emotional issues, and she honestly felt that she didn't have time for them. In her young – but already professional – mind, they were really nothing more than another thing to think about.

Eve shook her head, hoping to shake herself out of her brooding, as she heard footfalls on the stairs. In all honesty, footfalls weren't all she heard. The stairs in that place were so creaky and old that each step upon them was accompanied by a clashing orchestra of squeaks and groans from the protesting floorboards. Train had made a joking comment to the effect that even black cats couldn't hope to be graceful on those stairs, and – in the sense of his nickname – he was right. Sven had said that the only upside to those damn floorboards was that nobody would be able to sneak up them.

Then again, 'anybody' included them as well, so they wouldn't exactly be able to make a quiet escape. The very thought made Eve want to snort ironically – though that wasn't the sort of sound you could normally accredit to her. The idea of Train making a surrender and a quiet escape wasn't even funny, it was so unrealistic.

"Damn… stairs…" Eve heard the growling mutter from the foot of the stairs, though she didn't have to guess at Sven's location. The nearing-middle-aged man spat out his cigarette butt on the floor, grinding it with his heel. It seemed like a gesture of disrespect, for some reason. As if the stairs were a living entity – entirely possible, considering the cacophony they made when being walked upon.

"Sven." She said, wandering over to him.

"Princess." He acknowledged, touching his hat to her and grinning. His special grin that seemed so wide that it scrunched up his eyes in an effort to make room on his face. Eve couldn't see his right eye – as it was covered up by his eye-patch – but his left made up for both of them.

Sven continued into the main room and Eve followed behind him, noticing the laptop he held with mild curiosity. "Has that fraud come up with a new lead for us?" she asked; yet again amazed – as she often was – that they'd kept Woodney so long. He'd sent them on so many wild goose chases, Eve had lost count. None of them, it seemed, was able to be bothered finding someone else. The few leads Annette sometimes dug up for them out of boredom were not enough to consider her in their actual employ – she knew them for the company more than anything else.

"Sort of." Was Sven's short answer. Eve watched as he connected a few cables, wondering idly if he was going to tell her or if she should leave. The thought was unnecessary, as she wasn't really in the mood for walking or listening at that moment. After a minute, she moved over to the threadbare couch and sat down, pulling her knees up to her chin and retrieving her book from the coffee table.

It was another minute later, and Eve was a few pages further through _Wuthering Heights_ when Train decided to join them. He slumped contentedly beside Eve on the couch, not displacing her physically but unsettling her a little. Even from her distance, she could see that his belly was a little distended beneath his shirt. Eve shook her head, wondering if he'd ever stop eating.

Or sleeping, for that matter. It was ten full seconds after Train sat down that he fell peacefully asleep – the kind of slumber that Eve knew from experience wouldn't wake for Hell personified in creaking staircases.

She cocked her head, looking at him with narrowed eyes. It was incredibly curious, how he was so alert when he was awake. Perhaps sleeping so deeply half the time accounted for that. Perhaps it was just some sort of cat-like instinct. Not moving from her sitting position, she let a strand of her blonde hair rise upwards, sharpening at the tip into a razor-sharp point.

It drifted through the air, not making a sound. She held it poised over Train's neck, narrowing her eyes still further. One inch closer…

_Click_. Eve recoiled from the barrel of the gun that was immediately thrust into her face. She peered past it, wide eyed.

"… Princess?" Train yawned, seemingly still half asleep. It seemed he'd moved like lighting while he wasn't completely awake. His reflexes were completely deadly.

It took Eve a shaky second, but she smiled, letting her hair retract and settle back over her shoulders. "Just an experiment." She said.

"An experiment?" Sven looked up from his laptop as Train holstered _Hades_. He was raising his left eyebrow, looking sceptically at Eve and Train with an unlit cigarette sticking out of his mouth. He shook his head, obviously deciding that it was just another of their petty fights. "Well." He said. "I think we have a new lead."

Train arched a slender eyebrow. "From Woodney?" he asked.

"No." Sven said, grinning. "I found this one myself."

Train was, Eve could tell, about to utter something sarcastic and probably insensitive. She cut in before he could say anything stupid. "What class?"

"B." Sven said. "Quite dangerous. But there should be quite a lot of money in it."

"_Should_ be?" Train narrowed his eyes. "You're saying we're gonna go after someone with no defined price on their head? That's not like you."

Sven smirked. "Trust me." He said, flipping open his lighter. "This should be… interesting…" He lit his cigarette, making sure to do it in just the right way – Eve was beginning to wonder if he only smoked to look epic.

"You're right." Train said cheerfully, bouncing to his feet. "Who cares about practicalities?" He followed the rhetorical question up with a non-rhetorical one instantly. "When do we leave?"

"Hmmm… Right now." Sven said, after a contemplation. He stood, and the two of them followed him up the stairs to pack their respective small amount of possessions.

Eve sighed, pulling her suitcase from its place in the corner of her room – it was used so frequently that she never bothered putting it away properly. She'd been right about leaving. But then, had she seriously thought, in some subconscious recess of her mind, that they _wouldn't_ be leaving so soon this time? "No." she murmured as she opened her closet. "That's ridiculous."

As was the idea that nothing exciting would happen on their next trip. Interesting things happened so often that they were almost a certainty – God only knew why. The thought made Eve sigh yet again.

_Well,_ she thought,_ here we go..._

-----------------------

_A/N: soo… hi again. Sorry to the people who read River of Jeevas who were expecting another Death Note fanfic. :p. but anyway, you guys should read Black Cat if you haven't already. It's the awesomnessest. (I say that word too often, don't I? That's a little bit disconcerting, seeing as how it isn't actually a word… sigh…)_

_So, yeah. At first, I wasn't really sure I liked Eve (especially her Anime character!! Egh – I haven't actually seen it, but according to my friend they portrayed her as being in love with _Sven. _Seriously! Sven! x_x… that's just… not right…) but now I think she's cool enough to write a fanfic about. Yayz! (another non-word that I use very often.)_

_This fanfic is set about two years after the manga finishes. Give or take. Anyway, Eve is fifteen. (Physically and mentally, of course. In actuality, she's only about… six? Five? Because she's a clone… Oops, spoiler. Sorry. :p)_

_And, yeah! I have chapter titles in this one! :D hooray!_


	2. Chapter 2 And So the Plot Begins

_A/N: so… chapter two. Sorry for the slow (by my standards) update._

_I don't own Black Cat_

-----------------------

Eve was curled up in the window seat, reading and listening to the whizzing sounds of the traffic outside in the rain, when the screaming started.

There was only split second between when it started and when it stopped, but Eve was instantly standing, her book on the floor, alert to all movement.

The building was small, but large enough that several rows of bookshelves obscured Eve's view of what was going on. She thanked God she'd put on light shoes that morning as she crept forwards, feeling the sudden, shocking stillness in the air. It was a library, so naturally it had been quiet before, but now there was that unpleasant, prickling feeling of everyone in a room holding a collective breath.

Eve peeked around the corner of a shelf, drawing in a shocked breath at what she saw. It was nothing worse than _she_ saw regularly, but to others it would definitely be distressing. The woman who had screamed was cowering, shrinking backwards into the wall. It was obvious it had been her scream, because a masked man was holding his hand over her mouth.

The other hand was pointing a gun to someone's head. Not just someone; a boy. He looked about fifteen – the same age as Eve – and younger than the cowering woman, but he wasn't so much as moving. Even his expression, though hard and serious, was not in any way panicked. He was frowning, as if the idea that his life was in danger was somewhat puzzling to him.

Eve had no idea what had started this, but she knew she had to end it. There were any number of ways she could prevent that boy from dying, but she didn't want to arouse suspicion about her abilities. She flexed the fingers of her right hand, and began a transformation in her palm. She blinked slowly, closing her fingers around grip of the gun that had sprouted out of her hand.

One second. Then she took action, pushing away from the bookshelf. She had mere seconds to take aim, and fire. Not that he could hurt her with a bullet, but she didn't want to have to transform around any civilians. Eve wasn't as good a shot as Sven, and Train's ability was just a distant dream, but this was easy enough.

Her bullet hit the man in the middle of his forehead. In actuality, it was only a disused nano-machine, and it would do no more than knock him out, but he staggered backwards, falling to the ground. His gun hit the floor along with him, leaving the fifteen-year-old boy's eyes widening as he looked first at the man, and then – whirling – at Eve.

She took the second while the two people were looking at the fallen man to let the transformation disappear, and hurried over to them. First of all, she checked the man was breathing – just in case – and then turned to the victims.

They were both, naturally, staring at her, and even though she could understand why, she couldn't help feeling a little bit of contempt for…

Eve froze mid-emotion, suddenly feeling as if she'd just plunged head-first into a pool of icy water. Icy blue swallowed her, staring at her as she stared back into his eyes. His Eyes. Although she felt like running, in a hundred different directions, she started towards him slowly, taking a faltering step and raising her reluctant hand. It didn't feel like her nerves were reaching all the way down her arm.

And then he blinked, and she surfaced, realizing a split-second too late what she was doing. She was so used to impromptu planning in her fighting that she didn't even stop moving – helped greatly by the fact that she didn't know what she had been going to do – and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" was her pathetic cover-up for the fact that she'd been rendered thoughtless by the depth of the eyes of the boy she'd saved.

"Y-yeah… I'm fine…" he said. A shaky sort of half-smile spread across his face that would have made her revert to her thoughtless state, had she not been in control. "W-who _are_ you?"

"I'm Eve." Eve said.

"Eve? Just Eve?" the boy asked, the smile turning wry as he raised an equally shaky eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah." She drew her arm back, turning to the woman. "What about you, are you hurt?" she asked, avoiding the boy's eyes.

"I-I'm okay." The woman said, her words contradicted by the tears of fright in her eyes. "W-Why… What…"

Eve got what she was saying, her mouth setting into a grim line of non-emotion. "I don't know." She said. "I'm assuming, since you don't know either, that there wasn't some sort of… disagreement here?" she didn't give the woman time to answer the thought-turned-question, thinking aloud to herself. "Though that's not likely, seeing as he had a gun. He must have had some purpose to…" Against her better judgement, she turned back to the boy, appraising him while carefully avoiding looking at his eyes. He had tousled black hair and an expression that – even in the shock of almost getting shot – looked sheepish.

He didn't seem like the sort of person who anyone would want dead. Although Eve needed to figure out why this boy was an assassin's target, she decided not to say anything to freak him out just yet. She turned away from both of them, pulling out her cell phone. She hit the redial instantly – Sven and Train were the only people she called.

Sven picked up on the third ring. "Princess? What's going on?"

"There was an incident in the library." Eve said, conscious of the people watching her. "Some guy waving a gun around. I took care of him, but he may be worth something. He's unconscious, and nobody is hurt, as far as I can tell."

Sven took a second to process all that, then said; "Okay. We'll be there right away. Make sure he doesn't wake up."

"Okay." Eve said, hanging up. She turned back towards the two victims, aware for the first time that people were peeking their heads around the bookshelves, looking at the three of them with wide eyes. The other people who had been in the library. Eve sighed inwardly – these people could be troublesome to sort out. Sven would be annoyed at her for getting involved with this situation.

To avoid thinking about that too much, she looked at the boy. "I don't know your name." she said.

"It's Kory. With a 'K'." he smiled at her, holding out his hand.

"With a 'K'…" Eve repeated listlessly, frowning internally at the beat her heart skipped when he smiled. She took his hand – her inward expression turning to a scowl at the signals her nerves sent to her brain at the contact – and shook it. She knew what this was, and it was frustrating. She didn't need it. She considered herself lucky she'd probably never see him again.

"And you are?" she asked the woman as Kory released her hand.

"I just work at the library…" the woman – librarian – was at least past her stuttering.

A minute of silence followed, and Eve was surprised. From the very little she knew of Kory, he didn't seem like the unfriendly type. Well, almost getting shot was a good incentive to be thoughtful. Speaking of which… He had seemed shocked, so he probably wasn't aware of the reason for his near death. Then again, if he _was_ aware of the reason, it was equally likely he was a good actor.

"Princess!" Eve started at the voice which – while it was so familiar – seemed odd. It wasn't often that Train sounded that serious.

Everyone in the room whirled at the incongruous sound of the tinkling bell in the door of the library. The sound was so unsuited to the menacing atmosphere it was almost comical. Train came running first, his hand twitching towards _Hades_. Eve assumed this was yet another reflex that he probably wasn't even aware of. Sven was more collected, looking a little dangerous even when he touched his hat to the librarian. He was holding the attaché weapon case in his tensed left hand.

Sven surveyed the situation, before glancing at Eve. He gestured towards the unconscious man on the floor. "That him?"

"Yes." Eve replied, walking over to the man and kneeling beside him. Sven and Train followed behind her, also crouching down as she lifted the mask away from the man's face. "Do either of you recognise him?"

"Nuh-uh…" Train said. Sven offered no answer, letting Train speak for both of them.

"I see." Eve said. "We should take him away." A few seconds passed.

Then a piercing laugh broke the silence, making Eve jump, her head whipping around to look – shocked – at Train. He responded by ruffling her hair. "Who'd've thought _you'd_ be giving _me_ orders, Princess?" he chuckled at Eve's scowl.

She pursed her lips, and the three of them stood in unison, Sven cuffing Train on the back of the head. He didn't have to speak the words; "Be serious, Train!"; It was obvious he was thinking them.

"Right." Sven turned to look at the witnesses menacingly. "You guys, clear off. We're taking this guy to the police." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, pointing towards the criminal.

Maybe it was the cigarette he was using to directly contravene the 'no smoking' rule in the library. Maybe it was the gun on Train's hip. Maybe it was just the insecurity of the whole situation, but the bystanders instantly started making their way to the door. The only ones who stayed were the two victims, the librarian making her way awkwardly back behind her desk.

Sven glanced around. "No cameras." He said. "We'd better get going." He nodded to Train, who slung the unconscious attempted-murderer over his shoulder, and the trio started making their way out the door.

"Wait!"

The three sweepers turned, creating what Eve could only imagine was an incredibly intimidating image. Still, Kory spoke again. "I can't just let you guys leave… I mean… That guy tried to kill me! Why me? Why…" he trailed off, watching warily as Train exchanged a look with Sven. Eve read the looks, knowing exactly what they both said.

From Sven; "We need to find out the deal with this guy."

From Train; "Why not? Maybe it'll be fun."

They were unrelated, but either way Sven – acting as the group's leader for this particular incident – nodded to Kory. The four – five, if you counted the criminal – left the library as if nothing had happened.

"Oh. How annoying." Eve said, provoking odd looks from all her colleagues. "I didn't get that book out." She explained. Train laughed, Sven sighed, and Kory looked panicked.

As if she could blame him. The mysteriously oblivious almost-murder victim with the beautiful blue eyes...

_Oh…_ she thought, remembering the icy blue that had somehow been so warm. _How annoying…_

If she could have given herself an odd look, she would have. And she would have had no explanation for herself to hear.

-----------------------

_A/N: :DDD explanations coming soon (To a theatre near you!)_

_Random trivial info: the title of this fic refers to how long Eve put of being a teenager, and now it's caught up with her she might be, in some ways, 'belatedly normal'. Yeah, I come up with the most random fic titles. :P_


	3. Chapter 3 Yet More Nonconformity

_A/N: I don't own Black Cat_

-----------------------

"What happened, Princess?" Sven asked her. "What don't you want him to know?"

Eve looked at him seriously. They were in one room of the apartment they'd rented, while Train was… keeping Kory company in the other. Eve didn't envy Kory. "He was being targeted by that criminal, although he seemed surprised that someone was trying to kill him. He's either oblivious, or a good actor."

"Right. How did you deal with the situation?"

"Discreetly." Eve said, flustered at the idea that Sven didn't seem to trust her. "Anyway, I think we should check this guy for some sort of ID."

Sven snorted, lighting yet another cigarette and fixing his bored gaze on the middle distance. "If he's a professional, he won't have one. Not a legitimate one, at any rate."

"Still, it can't hurt to look." Eve said, reaching into the man's pockets warily. She encountered his wallet in the first one she tried, and opened it, flicking through.

Finally, she found something that looked like an ID, pulling it out. Her eyes widened, and the wallet slipped from her fingers.

Sven looked up at the small _thud_ it made hitting the floor. "What is it, Princess?"

Eve blinked, stunned. "It's a sweeper's license!"

-----------------------

Train was being – though Kory didn't know it – uncharacteristically quiet. He was looking away from Kory, leaning his folded arms on the window ledge, gazing outside at the sheeting rain.

Kory noticed the gun on his belt with a gulp. "Uhm…" he said, breaking the silence. "What was your name again?"

"Train." Train turned, smiling in a way that completely contradicted his appearance. It was so easy-going, it was almost scary…

Kory frowned. "Uh… You're not… related to Eve in any way, are you?"

"Nope!" Train's smile became even more radiant. Or even more menacing. It depends how you look at it.

"So, uh, why is she with you? I mean… I don't mean to be rude, or anything, but…" Kory mumbled.

"Oh, she's just along for the ride. She wanted a care-free life, just like me." Train intoned, his smile reaching epic proportions, at both ends of the spectrum. To Kory, it was nightmare material.

He ignored that, his brow furrowing. Train hadn't really answered his question. "Doesn't she have a family…?" he asked.

"No." Train said. "Not as such. We're all kind of like family, though." With that, he came over to where Kory was sitting stiffly in a wooden chair, swinging around another one and sitting opposite him, leaning his chin on his arms, which he rested on the chair back. It took everything Kory had not to recoil. "What about you?" Train asked, oblivious to Kory's discomfort. "You have any family?"

"Well, um…" Kory mumbled. "Not really… I mean… My parents are missing."

Train blinked, seeming surprised. He cocked his head to one side. "Missing?"

Kory sighed. "Yeah. Missing. I live by myself."

"Really?" Train said, his smile coming back in full force. "How'd you like to come live with us three?"

Kory's eyes widened. "W-what? You can't be serious…? We've only just met…"

"Oh, well…" Train sighed. "I guess that's a 'no'…"

Luckily for Kory, it was at that point that the door opened.

-----------------------

"A sweeper? He can't be…" Sven said, coming over to look at the license Eve was showing him. "The sweeper's policy is not killing. Damn." He cursed.

"What?"

"It's legitimate. Or an incredibly good forgery." Sven pursed his lips. "Compare this to the other IDs you can find – if he has this, he's probably got another one. Either that, or someone expected us to find him. Compare the information, and check the photos."

"Right." Eve nodded.

"I'll alert Train." Sven said, turning for the door.

Eve frowned. "Sven." she called.

He looked back at her. "What is it?"

Eve shifted uncomfortably. "Well… Assuming he _is_ a sweeper… What would have his incentive been to…" she trailed off, starting a new sentence. "Money? If so, how many more corrupt sweepers could there be? And who's employing them?"

For the first time that day, Sven cracked a smile, winking at Eve with his left eye. "Now, Princess, there's an very fine line between being prepared and being presumptuous."

Eve was unsatisfied – he hadn't actually answered the question. Sven was always direct, unless he was worried about hurting her. However, she allowed him to leave. If he was going to avoid her, she may as well let him. She could ask Train about it later, if she needed to. She turned back to the wallet, which she'd left on the floor.

She extended a strand of hair, curling it around the wallet to pick it up instead of reaching down, and started flipping through it again. She found an ID and a driver's licence. _What's going on here?_ She asked herself. _I'm half expecting to find a passport… Either this guy was incredibly confident that he wouldn't get caught, or someone _wanted_ us to know who he was..._

The information matched. So did the pictures, which also matched the man's face. Eve checked them for any sign they'd been altered, but found none. She was beginning to hope he _was_ a terrorist, or something like that. Better than the evidence that there was a chance a sweeper could become corrupted...

To avoid thinking about it, she checked the man's other pockets. She found nothing. So it was a possibility that someone wanted them to know who he was… Maybe to scare them? Make them insecure about their own kind? But then, it was easy enough to figure out… Did that mean they _wanted_ them to know that they wanted them to know who he was? Actually, if their intention was to make them confused, it was working.

"… Huh…?" the mumbled word made Eve's head snap up, looking towards the man who was lying across the other side of the room. He was waking up, but he was already restrained, nearly toppling the chair he was tied to.

She left, peeking into the room where the others were. "Sven. Train." She said. "He's waking up."

Train stood, and the two of them followed her. "The IDs?" Sven asked.

"They all matched. We should look him up, though." Eve stopped in front of the door she'd half-closed behind her.

"Right." Sven said, tilting his hat forwards on his head. "Let's get this over with."

Train, suddenly morphing into serious mode, pushed the door open just as their captive spoke. "W… where am I?"

Train strode over to him and slapped him upside the head. "Oi." He shoved his face inches from the man's. "We'll be the only ones asking questions. You got that?"

Sven and Eve stared at Train, who turned back to them, grinning. Sven put his head in his hands. "You idiot, Train… This is serious." He growled.

Train's expression turned to one of mock distress. "B-but… We've never had a real captive before…" he said, turning his puppy eyes on Sven.

Sven parted his fingers and glared at the other sweeper. "Train…" he cautioned. Eve sighed in exasperation, looking down at the floor.

Sven took action, walking up beside Train and pushing him out of the way. "Listen." He said, aiming his gaze, one-eyed but piercing, at their captive. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. All you have to do is answer the questions. Who are you working for?" he enunciated the last sentence slowly and clearly.

"Whoa." Train popped up behind him. "You're pretty good at this, Sven."

There was a few seconds of silence while Sven just radiated fury, before he whipped around, throwing his fist in Train's direction. Train, the picture of wide-eyed innocence, barely caught the punch before it hit him. Nevertheless, he did, moving fast and aiming to use the arm as leverage to throw Sven away from him.

Sven managed to twist around before Train let him go, so he skidded to a halt only a metre away. In the blink of an eye, both of them had drawn their guns. Train was looking a little disappointed, while Sven was just plain angry.

A disbelieving laugh from across the room made them look away from each other. "You've gotta be kidding me…" their captive laughed bitterly. "_You_ took _me_ down? I don't believe it…"

They both holstered their weapons. "Actually, Mr. Captive," Train grinned, earning himself a glare from Sven, "_she _took you down." He pointed to Eve, who was standing by the door with her arms folded in irritation.

The captive's eyes widened. "A kid? What's she doing with you guys?"

Eve stepped towards him. "I'm a sweeper." She said darkly. "One might say I'm like you in that respect." She held up the sweeper's licence in her left hand. "One might also ask why a sweeper such as yourself would be involved in what was clearly an assassination."

Somehow, to him, she seemed to be the most intimidating of the three. For the first time, he faltered, looking at her with surprise. She lowered her hand and continued, aware that her vocabulary was working on him. "Corruption, perhaps? Or some other incentive… Revenge…? But no. Surely not. Surely even someone driven mad by their want of revenge would not attempt to shoot somebody in the middle of a public library. No matter how mad you were, surely you couldn't be so utterly stupid. Unless, of course, your motives were induced by an outside influence, who _wanted_ us to find you. You've been toyed with. How does that make you feel? You were used. Surely you have absolutely no motive to keep quiet about the person who used you?"

Eve raised her right hand, turning it so that the light glinted off the knife her fingers were curled around. It was a rather crude transformation, but it did what she wanted it to. Namely, it scared their captive. He was looking at her as if she were mad, and so she must have looked. Disturbed, certainly. She smiled internally – her bluff was working. She could feel eyes on her, and hoped the captive wouldn't notice how dumbfounded she knew Train and Sven would look without seeing them.

"T-they're powerful…" the man whispered, eyes wide. "More powerful than you. I won't talk. I-I'll be killed…"

Eve cocked her head to one side. "A painless death, though, surely… Which is more than you could hope to expect from us." She wondered if she was taking it too far. It would be worth it if he told them something, though. It was all she could do to leave her threat hanging in the air – she wasn't a fan of violence or fear, and the atmosphere was full of both. Worse; she'd created them.

The captive cracked. "I-I don't know any names…" he looked as if he wanted to cringe away from the light glancing off the blade, but was too petrified to move. "I-I was just… I was just hired anonymously. They offered me money..."

"Is that all…?" Eve asked, sounding so menacing – even to herself – that she could almost _hear_ Train and Sven's shock.

"W-well, I did hear…" the captive looked close to dying of fright. "I overheard a conversation between two people – I never saw their faces... B-but I heard something about… about the sweepers' uprising…"

Eve suppressed a frown. "Uprising? Against whom?"

"I-I don't know…" he cried, shrinking away from her. He was glancing at her out of the corner of his half-shut eyes, deadly afraid of what she was going to do. After a second, she swung the knife round over her shoulder, then swept it in a wide arc towards his neck.

"Princess?! No!" Sven cried out from across the room, as the captive – beyond the capability of speech – squeezed his eyes shut.

He needn't have – when the tip of the blade was about six inches from the captive's throat, Eve fluttered her fingers and allowed the transformation to disappear. A shocking silence lasted a few seconds after the ringing echo of Sven's words faded, before the captive tentatively opened his eyes, his gaze aimed away from her.

It took possibly all the courage he possessed to look back at her now grim expression that showed no shadow of her previous 'evil'. "You bought it." She said, gritting her teeth and clenching her empty fists by her sides. "You idiot."

Shocked, he turned his head towards her. "…An… an act…?"

Eve scowled at him. "Violence is not the way of a sweeper. You'd do good to remember that." With those parting words, she turned on her heel and exited the room, leaving the three men staring after her.

-----------------------

_A/N: so, I think Train and Sven may have been a bit OOC there – Train not serious enough, and Sven too serious. If that's possible. It may have seemed like Eve was, as well, but I have a reason for her angst._

_Lol_


	4. Author's Note

Author's Note:

Hi, guys. Really, REALLY sorry I haven't uploaded anthing in a long time. I'm working on my original story right now, as well as it being the exam month. So I'm sunk, basically. I'll start updating again maybe next month or the month after. Don't hold your breath, though.

Sorry again...


End file.
